Lead on Martin
by Semfler
Summary: Luke the Warrior is off avenging Sayna. Martin is left to lead the clan. Rated T for mild language and just in case.


**Author's Note: First Fan Fic ever. Please R&R if you want to see more, as I do plan to write more. Sorry this first chapter is a little slow, but there will be more action later on. I do not own Redwall or any of the characters their in. Rated T just in case, and for slight language.**

Storm. The waters of the sky poured down onto coastline, fog stretching as far as the eye could see. Martin listened to the raging ocean outside the saftey of his cave, every wave that lapped onto the beach gave life to a cool breeze which swept through the caves. These caves were bored into the coastal mountain range like swiss cheese, carved out by ancient forces long ago.

Off in the distance lightning struck, and the clap of thunder snapped Martin out of his daze. Listening to storms were probably the most peaceful thing you could do on the coastline, what with all the sea rats. The candle light filled the cave with a warm deep glow, drawing a subtle shadow over Martin's face. Martin lived alone in that small cave, his mother having been killed long ago, and his father off to avenge her death. Martin tried not to think about his mother or father, it was simply to painful. It was a lot of work to lead a clan, ecspecially at such a young age (15 seasons old), and that helped to keep his mind off his parents.

Martin lay awake, thinking. His thoughts wandered from the storm to the recent attacks from the sea rats. Their clan had managed to hold off a small fleet of sea rats, headed by the vicious Kazgar Selthier, who was a fox himself. Martin, his friend Timballisto, and the many other mice who lived along the coastline, had managed to destroy almost the entire fleet. Unfortunately, Kazgar had survived and escaped.

Now, the clan was given a small respite because of the storm. Martin, being the clan leader, had to think ahead about what the clan would do after the storm. It was doubtful Kazrag would return soon, but Martin had no doubt in his mind that he would return eventually to exact his revenge. Sea rats were not his top priority however, food was. The storm had been going for about a week, and during that week supplies for the clan was slowly depleted. As soon as the storm was over, Martin would have to send out several foraging parties to replenish their stocks. If food was rare, they could always fish, as the slimy aqua-creatures were a never ending source of food.

Martin added a few more pieces of drift wood to the fire and drifted off to sleep, subconciously planning and plotting for the survival of the clan.

Early morning. The waves had subsided, there was only a slight drizzle of rain and some heavy fog. Martin was walking along the shoreline, trying to see if he could catch a crab or two. The young mouse tripped over a rock for the second time that day, he cursed silently, and continued turning over rocks with his father's sword... well his sword now.

"Hey Martin, get any crabs?" Called an energetic young voice from behind Martin. Martin turned around slowly and wearily, the light rain causing his fur to droop down in front of his eyes. He saw that the source of the speaker was Timballisto, one of Martin's closest friends, having known him since childhood.

"No... We need to send out some foraging parties once this rain stops, it won't be long before lack of food starts to debilitate the clan." Martin responded, his voice grim and his expression dull. Timballisto on the other hand, was all smiles. He looked happy right down to his sopping wet light blue tunic, and all the way up to his damp whiskers.

"Ah come on Martin, cheer up. You haven't been so grumpy since your father left."

"Well it's a little difficult running a clan!" Martin raised his voice a little, the iratation in his voice showed well. "I wouldn't expect you to understand, being a simpleton and all."

As soon as the words left Martin's mouth he regretted them, Timballisto visibly drooped, his tail dragging on the ground. He couldn't understand why Martin was so mad all of the sudden. Martin sighed, he was under a lot of stress lately, and he had brought all his feelings on to Timballisto.

"I'm sorry mate. It's just hard to handle everything at once, I didn't mean what I said."

"Oh that's fine, but never forget that you got your friends to help you. No one ever said you had to do this alone." Martin smiled, Timballisto always managed to cheer him up.

"C'm on Tim, let's go organize some patrols."

Martin had just finished oganizing several patrols and forage parties and was in the middle of working with the rest of the clan to barricade some of the caves using drift wood. The barricades were simply another precaution for the next time sea rats attacked, they would help protect the young ones from the heat of battle.

It was mid-afternoon, the fog had cleared and the rain had stopped, making work much easier. Martin took a bite of a sea weed scone, not the most appetizing thing in the world, but it kept him working. The mouse noticed a young mouse maid, struggling to lift a large peice of drift wood to use as a support for one of the barricades. Martin rushed over to help, recognizing her as Sasha, a friend he'd known almost all his life.

"You think these wall thingy's will work then Martin?" She said as they carried the large board across the beach.

"Well they'll certainly hold off the sea rats for a little while next time they attack." He said with a warm smile.

"Why don't they just leave us in peace?" Sasha said sadly. Martin just shook his head, it was a nice idea, but years of fighting had taught him that sea rats don't think like that.


End file.
